I’m humbled and honored to have been featured in an article on Borrowed & Blue! The article was about the various types and styles go wedding photography and interviewed several local photographers in the Washington, DC area. I described my style as Fine Art.

I feel a professional Fine Art photographer is more than just someone who gets paid to take pretty pictures. There are so many styles of [wedding] photography out there and they each require different skills from a photographer. For example, a wedding photographer that takes a photojournalistic approach needs to know how/when to anticipate key moments and events. A contemporary photographer might do a lot of “special effect” shots like using a tilt-shift lens to get a unique selective focus shot, or a wide angle lens to get a fish-eye effect. A Fine Art photographer has more of a hand in styling/creating certain images and needs to know how to do this. As a wedding photographer I feel it is my responsibility to capture the day as it unfolds, but as a Fine Art wedding photographer I feel it is my responsibility to give my clients the best photos possible by inserting my artistic abilities.

So for example I take an hour carefully laying out various sets/arrangements of the details like the wedding dress, shoes, rings, invitations, flower arrangements, etc. I take the time to style each shot to show off the beauty of these details in a [gorgeous] artistic way. And again for portraits, I will take control over this portion of the wedding day. I will (along with the approval of the bride and groom) select the location, the time of day, the poses for the bride and groom, etc. to give them the best portraits possible.

But having said that, I do feel that there are certain parts of a wedding day where I take a more photojournalistic approach like during the ceremony and reception. I have little to no control over the situation and so I photograph the events as they happen in the best way that I can. I’m able to be creative with things like the angles in which I shoot from, but I don’t have full creative direction over the situation. And the same goes for the reception. I will often tap into my Fine Art skill set and prepare a couple of lovely shots for the couple, but for the most part I have to roll with the schedule of the evening and capture things as they unfold. But even when I am photographing events at a reception, I will still insert my artistic hand into a situation. Cake cutting is a great example. Rather than just letting the couple dig in, I make sure that they are standing in a way that I can see both of their faces when I take the picture. Or I will coach a couple right before they walk down the aisle of their sparkler exit so that I can get some really great shots for them rather than just letting them run through and hoping to grab a great expression!

I think this article sounded a little extreme by saying, “if you are ready to hand over the reins to your photographer…[this style] lets their imaginations run wild.” To me that sounds a little haphazard and makes it sound like the photographers a in lala land. I always work closely with my couples and get their opinion/approval on the ideas that I have. But I do agree that when hiring a Fine Art photographer, you do have to trust their skills and professional opinions. If you love a photographers style and have great communication about what is important to you, then you should be able to trust your photographer to take amazing photos on your wedding day. :)

If you’d like to read the entire article on Borrowed & Blue just click here.

Are you or anyone you know looking for a wedding photographer? Fill out a contact form here, or send me a note at kristen@kristenlynne.com! I’d love to meet you!